Theo, I might just take you up on that! I used to see them in the garden when I was a kid, but I haven't seen a live one for probably 30+ years. I knew one could order ladybugs, but not praying mantises (mantis's? manti? mantisesesses?) Where on earth do you get them??

The eggs which come in a cocoon type thingy the mantis makes, come three to a box, the cocoon is stuck on a twig. You just take them out and set them in your garden and check them now and then and suddenly, you have hundreds of 1/2 inch little baby bright green mantis's all over the place :)

I have never had a problem with them, they're always delivered at the right time for my planting area...and I think they ship to Canada. I order the lady bugs too because the ones you buy from them don't bite. We have scads of the bitey ones. grrrrrr

Yutha, I thought of our brother's massacre when I saw photos of a chameleon at the camera club last week. As I recall, the praying mantis decapitated the lizard. Not funny, not funny.... Remember when mom found his rubber snake in the washing machine, only it wasn't the rubber one, but a real one that had crawled in there and drowned? Ah, good times.

Theo, thanks for the info. I'm going to check it out. Actually, the bitey ones are not ladybugs at all, but a similar looking type of beetle nicknamed the Asian Ladybug. Those bite.

Pam, yeah, unfortunately, I'm on a first name basis with the Asian Lady Bug. We built a new home in 2001 and we have a storage room over the garage. Unfortunately, those darned things found their way in before the house was closed up (the room is closed off from the garage) and it's on the west side of the house. Every time the sun warms the room, no matter how cold it really is outside, I'm inundated with the stupid things! Even the dogs run the other way now when one comes flying at them...

About Me

A Novel Woman, AKA Pamela Patchet, was unwittingly born and raised in Toronto instead of Paris. She worked her way from A&W carhop to political advisor to advertising executive where, on any given day, she was called upon to soothe disgruntled clients, cajole temperamental artists, juggle multi-million dollar budgets or locate trained penguins for television commercials. She married a handsome dentist for love and a lifetime of free dental care, raised three kids, and established a freelance writing career, not unlike her earlier jobs, minus the penguins.